Despite the solid support of the American people for the Democratic position that telecommunications companies should NOT have immunity from breaking the law in the service of the Bush Administration, the Senate seems determined to pass the version of the bill that grants them that immunity. A few stalwart Senators, Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold, will filibuster the bill, but unfortunately, they don’t have the votes to back it up. Bush (and AT&T) will receive a free pass for spying on Democrats, er, Americans, without a warrant. The DSP (Democrat Surveillance Program) will go on without a hitch, and the next President will also have those spying powers by default. Fourth Amendment, Schmourth Amendment. Um, yay for the Unitary Executive Theory?
I am very proud of Senators Dodd and Feingold for standing up for truth, justice, and the American way. But why so few?
Unlike many, I never expected Barack Obama to do anything differently than he is doing on FISA. However, my expectations of the Senator from Illinois are so low now, that if he did anything, ANYTHING that showed he believed in any Democratic principle whatsoever (and I’m talking actions, not words), I would be ecstatic and relieved.
But I must say how incredibly angry, disappointed and disgusted I am with this 110th Congress. They have been unable to accomplish the important things they were elected to accomplish: reverse the tide in Iraq and Afghanistan by bringing troops home; rein in the out-of-control budget; help the residents of the Gulf Coast get back on their feet; stop the downward spiral of the economy; and most of all, bring accountability back to Washington. Or, as Speaker Pelosi famously said, “Drain the swamp.”
Sure, a lot of people are gone from the Bush Administration now, but the big players who were ousted, such as Rove, Rumsfeld and Gonzales, remain legally unscathed despite their outrageous and illegal activities. Rove is gainfully employed at Newsweek and Fox News, still freely dripping his poisonous propaganda into the public’s ears. (Gonzales is trying to make a living, but no one wants to hear what he has to say. Snicker.)
And as for Bush, Cheney and Rice? Thanks to Nancy’s famous table, upon which impeachment MUST NOT be placed, they’re getting ready for a lovely retirement in Paraguay. I’m envisioning a compound, personally. (Hmmm….perhaps my next play will expound upon my vision.)
This Congress seems bound and determined to scream “Look, we swear we’re just like Republicans! Like us! Like us, dammit!”
How well has that worked for them?
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) — U.S. congressional approval rate hit new lows in the recent polls, said a news website on Tuesday.
The latest Rasmussen poll conducted on July 1 showed that percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings fell to only single digits for the first time in the survey body’s history, at 9 percent, while about 52 percent said Congress was doing a poor job, said the report by Politico website.
However, the approval rate of Democrats, who have a majority of seats in Congress, still led that of Republicans by 12 percentage points, it showed.
The lead was much wider in a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted in mid-June, which found Democratic party beat Republican by 52 percent to 33 percent in supporting rate, Politico said.
WOO-HOO!
New bumpersticker for Democratic Congresscritters in 2008:
“Vote Democratic. We Suck Less!”
The Party is disintegrating, devolving into its component parts: the warriors and the appeasers. The appeasers have had their day for a while now, and what do we have to show for it?
Time for the warriors to ascend to their rightful places in the Party. If they are denied those places, as is happening right now with the forced and illegitimate nomination of appeaser Barack Obama over warrior Hillary Clinton, they will simply find places outside of it, like well-known liberal Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). And trust me, the voters will follow.
Are you listening, Howard Dean?
Hillary or McCain – it’s your choice. Because when choosing between a real Republican and a fake Republican, people will choose the real thing every single time.
May you learn this lesson soon, Party Leaders. The fate of our Party, our country, and our planet depends upon it.
Oooh, nuance! 